November 17 - Morning"To whom be glory for ever. amen" Romans 11:36 "To whom be glory for ever." This should be the single desire of the Christian. All other wishes must be subservient and tributary to this one.
The Christian may wish for prosperity in his business, but only so far as
it may help him to promote this "To Him be glory for ever." He may
desire to attain more gifts and more graces, but it should only be that "To
Him may be glory for ever." You are not acting as you ought to do when
you are moved by any other motive than a single eye to your Lord's glory.
As a Christian, you are "of God, and through God," then live "to God."
Let nothing ever set your heart beating so mightily as love to Him. Let this
ambition fire your soul; be this the foundation of every enterprise upon
which you enter, and this your sustaining motive whenever your zeal
would grow chill; make God your only object. Depend upon it, where self
begins sorrow begins; but if God be my supreme delight and only object, "To me tis equal whether love ordain Let your desire for God's glory be a growing desire. You blessed Him in
your youth, do not be content with such praises as you gave Him then.
Has God prospered you in business? Give Him more as He has given you
more. Has God given you experience? Praise Him by stronger faith than
you exercised at first. Does your knowledge grow? Then sing more
sweetly. Do you enjoy happier times than you once had? Have you been
restored from sickness, and has your sorrow been turned into peace and
joy? Then give Him more music; put more coals and more sweet
frankincense into the censer of your praise. Practically in your life give
Him honour, putting the "Amen" to this doxology to your great and
gracious Lord, by your own individual service and increasing holiness. November 17 - Evening"He that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby." Ecclesiastes 10:9
Oppressors may get their will of poor and needy men as easily as they can
split logs of wood, but they had better mind, for it is a dangerous business,
and a splinter from a tree has often killed the woodman. Jesus is
persecuted in every injured saint, and He is mighty to avenge His beloved
ones. Success in treading down the poor and needy is a thing to be
trembled at: if there be no danger to persecutors here there will be great
danger hereafter.
To cleave wood is a common every-day business, and yet it has its
dangers; so then, reader, there are dangers connected with your calling and
daily life which it will be well for you to be aware of. We refer not to
hazards by flood and field, or by disease and sudden death, but to perils of
a spiritual sort. Your occupation may be as humble as log splitting, and yet
the devil can tempt you in it. You may be a domestic servant, a farm
labourer, or a mechanic, and you may be greatly screened from temptations
to the grosser vices, and yet some secret sin may do you damage. Those
who dwell at home, and mingle not with the rough world, may yet be
endangered by their very seclusion.
Nowhere is he safe who thinks himself
so. Pride may enter a poor man's heart; avarice may reign in a cottager's
bosom; uncleanness may venture into the quietest home; and anger, and
envy, and malice may insinuate themselves into the most rural abode. Even
in speaking a few words to a servant we may sin; a little purchase at a
shop may be the first link in a chain of temptations; the mere looking out
of a window may be the beginning of evil. O Lord, how exposed we are!
How shall we be secured! To keep ourselves is work too hard for us: only
Thou Thyself art able to preserve us in such a world of evils. Spread Thy
wings over us, and we, like little chickens, will cower down beneath Thee,
and feel ourselves safe! November 17 |